Social support interactions in therapeutic adventure education programs

Abstract

Social interactions in adventure programs are considered paramount for individual growth, yet little empirical evidence is available to support this assumption. Less is known about the types of social interactions that encourage growth. This study explored the impact of social support structures on course outcomes of an adventure therapy program as measured by the Youth Outcome Questionnaire (Y-OQ). Participants provided information on four types of social support they received from other group members throughout the program. Findings indicated the development of high levels of social support within the adventure therapy program groups. The global measure of social support was not able to predict the therapeutic growth as measured by the Y-OQ or its subscales. Examination of the four specific types of social support indicated that high levels of Instrumental Support predicted greater overall therapeutic growth and that each of the four types of social support predicted one or more the Y-OQ subscales.